Grain-cleaning machine



A. V. CLELAND.

GRAIN CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION 111w mu. 8. 1918.

1,865,303. I 1 Patented Jan. 11,1921.

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A. V. CLELAND.

GRAIN CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED m4. B. 1913.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

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ANDREW V. CLELAND, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

GRAIN-CLEANING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

Application filed January 8, 1918. Serial No. 210,918.

Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Cleaning Machines, of which the following is a specifioation.

In the operation of a machine for cleaning grain, considerable difliculty and annoyance is experienced in keeping the meshes of the finer sieves clear of refuse and foreign material which may lodge therein and interfere with the successful operation of the sieve.

A further object is to provide a sieve cleaning device of simple construction and one which can be conveniently applied to the working surface of the sieve.

A. further and particular object is to provide a sieve cleaning device which will not in any way interfere with the convenient removal of the sicve from its shoe or its insertion therein. 7

Other obj ects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure lis an end view of the cleaner,

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view,

Fig. at is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4 -4i of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the sieve.

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the manner of mounting the sieve in the shoe.

In the drawings, 2 represents the frame of the machine, provided with an opening 3 in each of its side walls to receive the end walls of a shoe 4 which is supported by suitable hangers 5 and has a shaking motion imparted thereto by well-known mechanism, not illustrated herein. Above the shoe I provide a suitable hopper 6 and a driven feed roll 7 which delivers the grain from the hopper upon a gang of sieves 8. The grain passes through these sieves upon an oppositely inclined sieve 9 that is adjustable lengthwise upon oscillating bars or supports 10 carried by the side walls of the shoe. The screen 11 is arranged beneath the screen 9 to receive the grain therefrom for delivery to spout 12, the larger, plumper kernels of grain flowing down over the screen 9 upon the ad ustable plate 13. The smaller,'lighter kernels which fall upon the screen 11 flow down over its lower end to the spout 12- while the seeds and fine material passing through the screen 11 will drop upon the adjustable plate 14. A fan 15 is disposed opposite the gang of sieves 8 for directing the air blast through thespace between the sieves 8 and the sieve 9, and the chaff and light material will be blown out of the falling grain by this blast. with tlieexception of the supports 10 for the sieves 9, the mechanism thus described is for the most part of ordinary construction. The screen 11, as shown in the drawings, is of very much finer mesh than the others and for the purpose of keeping this screen clean and effective throughout the operation of the machine provide means for cleaning it which forms the subject matter of my. present invention.

Referring to Fig. 5,'the sieve is shown provided on itsv under surface .with cross bars 16 and each bar has a strap 17 near the middle portion thereof on which a slide 18 is free tomove lengthwise on the underside of the sieve, being guided in itslongitudinal movement by the strap 17L Mounted on this slide are a series of cleats or brushes 19 which bear on the under'surface of the sieve and are supported at their ends by bars19 secured to the sieve frame. When the slide 18 is reciprocated in its guides, the cleats 19 will move back and forth on the underside of the sieve and have the function of keep ing the meshes of the sieve clean by dislodg- It is desirable that this cleaning device be reciprocated slowly and with this end in view I provide the following describedoperating mechanism: 20 is a block secured to the middle portion of the slide 18 and having oppositely inclined faces 21 between which is a transverse slot 22 positioned to receive the angular portion 23 of an operating rod 2 1. This rod has a hearing at 25 on one of the cross pieces in the bottom of the shoe and projects out through the wall of the machine and is pivotally connected with the long arm of a bell crank 26. For the purpose of operating this bell crank, I provide a feed roll 7 with a shaft 7 having a worm 27 thereon engaging the teeth of a worm wheel 28 mounted on a short shaft 29 that is carried by a bracket 30 secured to the frame of the machine. Mounted on the shaft 29 is a disk 31 having a crank pin 32 connected with a pitman 33 at its upper end and having its lower end pivotally connected with the short arm of the bell crank 26. This bell crank is pivotally supported upon a bracket 34 that is mounted on the wall of the shoe and projects outwardly through the opening 3 in the frame of the machine. In assembling the device, the sieve is inserted into the shoe and the rod is then moved lengthwise until it engages one of the inclined surfaces 21 and snaps intothe slot in the block. WVhen this has been done, reciprocation of the rod 24 through the operation of the pitman 33 will move the cleaning device slowly back and forth on the underside of the sieve and thoroughly clean the meshes thereof. When it is desired to remove the sieve, it is only necessary to lift it out of the shoe, when the rod 24: will become disengaged from the block 20 without the necessity of pulling its angled or bent end out of the slot. In this way I avoid the necessity of attempting to reach in under the sieves in the shoe to connect or disconnect the operating rod from the cleaner.

The shoe is preferably provided on its under side with cross strips 85 and aplate 36 to which the spout 12 is secured in a suitable manner, and the sieve 11 has holes 37 and pins 38 are provided in the ends of the plates 36 for entering these holes to hold the sieve securely in place in the shoe.

The cleaning device may, of course, be made in various sizes and in various ways the details of construction herein shown and described may be modified and still be Within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with a sieve, of a cleaning device mounted on the under side thereof, a flexible rod having an end portion mounted to interlock with a socket provided in said cleaning device and automatically disengage itself from said cleaning device when said sieve is lifted, and means for re ciprocating said rod and cleaning device.

2. The combination, with a sieve, of a cleaning device mounted thereon and provided with a block having oppositely inclined surfaces and a slot between them, a flexible rod having an angular end portion for engaging said inclined surfaces and being directed thereby into said slot, said angular end portion becoming disengaged from said slot when said sieve is lifted, and means for reciprocating said rod.

3. The combination, with a shoe having a cross plate therein, of a sieve fitting within said shoe and resting upon said plate and having holes in the frame thereof and pins mounted in said plate and adapted to enter said holes when said sieve is placed over said plate for holding said sieve in position in said shoe.

4. The combination, with a sieve, of a cleaning device operating thereon, a reciprocating rod and means for operating said rod and means for loosely connecting said rod with said cleaning device, said sieve, when raised from its seat, becoming disengaged from said reciprocating rod.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of December, 1917.

a ANDREW V. CLELAND. 

